Traveling with small children can seem like a complicated task for some when organizing things .
Preparing for your trip and talking about it with your children are two essential things to ensure that everything goes as smoothly as possible.
As for what to pack, that's another story and can be complicated for some 😱
Personally, I make a to do list of the necessary things to bring.
In this post, I will give you advice and help you organize yourself when preparing your children's belongings, and above all, to prevent you from making the monumental mistake of bringing too many!

The path
For our trip to Costa Rica in February 2024, we chose to take public transport from home to the airport in Paris. Save time and energy , avoid traffic jams, BUT above all be there for the children during these long hours.

A long trip like that was a big first for us.
A long-haul flight departing from Paris with a 1h20 stopover in Montreal and then leaving for San José in Costa Rica . But before that, our starting point was our "home", by RER to Strasbourg, and then by TGV to Paris.
To then finish in a car with driver, which we booked with Babycabs , for a family with children, it's the best! Everything is designed for the comfort and safety of children. She picked us up at the station and dropped us off at the airport. We proceeded like this for the outward journey and the return journey.
We recommend it without hesitation.
Airplane business
For the plane, it is essential to have a diaper bag only for children , with a change of clothes per child, wipes , small trash bags , diapers (easier to change on the go), baby bottles already prepared with milk, a bottle of water for each , dry biscuits , a cuddly toy , a pacifier and a small blanket .
Blankets are generally provided for a long haul, but I preferred to take their blanket which is much more comfortable.
In another small backpack , I gave them something to keep them busy (pencil, marker, sticker, small activity book, a small book each, a small board game and a few small cars) .
In addition, Loïs (who is 3 years old), was entitled to a special children's sound headset that I bought before the trip, because the one we receive on the plane is not very suitable for children. Exceptionally , he was given the opportunity to watch cartoons appropriate for his age. With a 12-hour flight, and 99% of passengers facing their screen, we didn't have much choice 😅
To avoid being too burdened with a stroller, I opted for the baby carrier , which really helped me throughout the trip.
Summary list:
In the diaper bag | In the little backpack |
|
|
Business suitcase
The things in the suitcase, I admit that we took far too many clothes for a tropical country.
Two suitcases, one with the children's things and the other with the parents' things.
For a fortnight, I had planned one outfit per day , but we had way too many. Because, depending on the place you are going to book, an Airbnb or a hotel, you may have access to a washing machine , which greatly limits the quantity of clothes to take with you.
Regarding diapers, there is no need to pack tons of them in your suitcase, you will easily find them in stores in Costa Rica, even outside the big cities!
We opted for the Huggies brand on site.
I leave you with a to do list for the children:
Everyday clothing
| Clothing for the beach/river
|
Customs
When you are a family with young children, you have the right to take liquid on the plane , so one less problem for baby bottles, water bottles... 😁
On the way from Paris to Montreal and Montreal to Costa Rica, we were lucky, we didn't have the need to taste milk, nor did we need to throw it away.
On the other hand, on the way back to France for the last Montreal-Paris flight, the lady asked us how old the little one was, I was afraid that she would throw the bottle of milk at me, a little bit of stress and 10 minutes wasted, but it happened!
Health
When traveling with children, it's like at home, we deal with the little daily ailments, and we consult a doctor or go to the hospital if it's more serious. Fortunately, accidents are rare, a few minor injuries, scratches and a few sunburns can happen quickly. So having your little first aid kit with you, with medications you know, is so practical!
And for good daily hygiene, it is important to wash your hands regularly . A check-up with the doctor is essential to verify that basic vaccinations are also up to date .
The essentials of a family first aid kit:
Biseptine, compress and dressing for small wounds or scratches to disinfect
Smecta and Tiorfan against mild diarrhea
Paracetamol in case of fever
Biafine for small burns (and sunscreen especially!)
Arnica gel for bumps, or homeopathic arnica beads
And for those who prefer to go natural: Colloidal silver, which can be used for fever, stomach aches, or to disinfect a wound (We took it in a towel in the suitcase)
And to complete the pharmacy kit:
Thermometer
Tweezers for splinters or even a tick (we were lucky enough to discover Costa Rican ticks YOUPIIII)
Physiological serum pods to clean an eye or with the special syringe for a runny nose
Adult sunscreen
A tropical mosquito repellent (it all depends on where you are)
To avoid being cluttered with packaging, take out the medications and put everything together in a pouch and if you need a reminder, write it down on a small sheet of paper that you can slip into this pouch, with the instructions. if necessary.
Be careful with liquids, if you take it with you in the cabin of the plane!
Vaccines
Before going on a trip with the children, it is essential for me to get good information , particularly for certain so-called “risky” destinations. Luckily, we have a doctor who is used to traveling and therefore explained to us the risks and difficulties that we could encounter.

Firstly, check that the “classic” children’s vaccines (Dtcoq, polio, Haemophilus influenza b, BCG, hepatitis, etc.) are up to date.
Secondly, it all depends on where you want to travel, but for certain destinations, it is recommended to have specific vaccines: hepatitis A, typhoid, meningitis, yellow fever (Africa), Japanese encephalitis, rabies… The choice is yours , and you must take into account the conditions in which you are traveling: countryside or city and possible ongoing epidemics.
It is very important that you find out according to your length of trip and your destination.
Please note , for some countries, it is even mandatory to enter the country.
ATTENTION: Remember to take vaccines in advance, because for Most vaccines are given in two or three injections depending on the reminder to follow!
Example: Hepatitis A vaccine, first injection -> Second injection 6 months later
Take into account that vaccines are not covered by health insurance and that you must plan a budget .
For our part, here are the vaccines that the doctor advised us to take:
Adults | Children |
Hepatitis A: Reminder 6 months later | Hepatitis A: Reminder 6 months later |
Typhoid: Reminder | Typhoid (from 2 years): Reminder |
Meningitis: 2 injections | Meningitis 3rd reminder for them |
Health insurance
Health insurance when you travel, you have to think about it!
Many people don't think about it. And others think that in a few days nothing can happen to us... but it is very important to plan for one. Because an accident, an illness or something else can quickly happen on site. And then, you can have the nice surprise of an amount that you will have to take out of your pocket , and that's not cool at all. So to avoid this, consider taking out health insurance even if you have not had the need to use it, psychologically, you will be able to better enjoy your trip .

Jet lag
That's it, it's the big departure, and you finally arrive at your destination after hours on the train and 12 hours in the air.
There are two possible options, either your children will manage to sleep on the plane and you will be able to take micro-naps OR the complete opposite, and that's a disaster 😆
For our part, we arrived in Costa Rica in the evening around 9 p.m., although the children had slept on the last 5 a.m. flight, we had no difficulty getting them to go to the hotel.
And even with the little sleep we had, we were so excited about being in Costa Rica that we all woke up at 5 a.m. the next day , accompanied by birdsong.
It was so nice.
We encountered no difficulty with the rhythm , we all quickly adapted to the Costa Rican rhythm, that even in the evening, we put the children to bed around 7 p.m. (9 p.m. for us).
On the other hand, the time difference upon our return to France was really a big disaster!

We didn't sleep at all during the entire flight , and when we arrived in Paris at dawn, we had a full day layover, with the train only at the end of the day.
It’s clear that the organization of the return was not the best!
The sleep rhythm was very complicated for a good week, the time to adapt again to the French rhythm.
One piece of advice : avoid overly long stopovers with children, or quite the opposite, a stopover long enough to rest for a full night in a hotel.
And above all, never think that traveling with your children is a burden, on the contrary, it is a gift for them, so go for it!
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